


Almost Something

by TheNordicAlien



Category: Choices: Stories You Play, Endless Summer (Visual Novel), PlayChoices
Genre: Bromance, Gen, Headcanon, Light Angst, Male Friendship, Mild Language, References to Cheating (offscreen)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 20:43:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,431
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12020640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheNordicAlien/pseuds/TheNordicAlien
Summary: Craig is psyched to find out that he and Sean have made the list for the La Huerta trip, but Sean has some news of his own. Written as part of the Tumblr Choices Creates Carnival - prompt: Friendship.





	Almost Something

**Prompt: Friendship**  
**Rating: T (some swearing)**  
**No trigger warnings**

*

Craig’s whistling as he heads home. His gait is light, almost a skip, and he can’t help but do the occasional fistpump. _Yeah, dawg! Things are finally looking up._

He glances up at their window as he heads into the courtyard. It’s lit up. Awesome, that means Sean’s home. Normally Craig would worry about Sean being home - since he split with Michelle, he’s been quiet and sort of sad - but tonight, he’s happy to see the light on, because he’s got the _baddest_ news and he knows Sean will be hyped.

Craig barrels into their room, and sure enough, Sean’s lying on his bed, reading, though he springs to his feet as Craig enters.

“I have the best thing to tell you!”

“Got the sickest news for you, dude!”

They speak simultaneously, two voices matching each other in excitement, and Craig feels a rush of warmth and kinship that he’s felt all too rarely in his life. For all their differences, Sean is his _compadre,_ his brother from another mother, and hearing him excited again eases a knot of tension inside Craig that he hadn’t even realized was there. He’s been worried, these last few weeks, but it seems like Sean is finally himself again.

“You first.” Sean is ever the gentleman, even when he’s talking to another man.

Craig grins and throws himself onto his bed. He probably should let Sean give his news first, but he’s spent the entire trip home feeling like he’s gonna burst. “Ask me what’s updog?”

Sean shakes his head, smiling. “What’s up, dawg? And I swear to God, if you say Deez Nuts…”

“The La Huerta list is up, dawg! And we’re both on it! And that’s not all, dude.”

Sean breaks out in a huge grin, the first that Craig’s seen on him in several weeks, and he looks surprisingly like a little kid. “I know! That was what I was gonna tell you!” He pauses, and his eyes lower, like he’s hiding something. “Actually, that’s not the only reason I’m happy.”

Craig’s not the sharpest tool in the drawer, but even he can see that his exciting news needs to wait a while, because there’s clearly something that’s on Sean’s mind.

“You know you can tell me anything, man.”

Sean sighs, but he’s still smiling. “I know. I just don’t want you to think badly of me. I mean, it’s only been a few weeks since Michelle, and I don’t want anyone to think I didn’t love her, or that I was playing around on her - you know I wouldn’t do that, right? - or that I wasn’t hurt by her cheating…” He trails off, and Craig’s impatient need to share his own news bubbles up a bit.

“Taylor’s coming to La Huerta. And I think I might have a chance.”

 _Holy shit,_ Craig thinks to himself. _Did I just interrupt Sean’s news with my own? I’m such an asshole._ But he looks over at Sean, and his heart cracks open like the Titanic and starts to sink, because Sean is still talking.

Sean…is talking…about Taylor.

 _Craig’s_ Taylor. The one he’s been fantasizing about for a couple months now. He never mentioned his crush to Sean; never mentioned it to anyone, because it was only this evening, just less than an hour ago, that he saw both their names on the La Huerta list and started to think that on a romantic tropical island, away from the parties and crowds, he might be in with a chance.

Fifty-three minutes of hope. It felt like a lifetime - how could his hopes have gotten so huge in fifty-three minutes? - yet simultaneously like it was over in a flash.

And it has to be over. Because Sean’s smiling. Not the bright, toothy ladykiller football star smile, but the real one. The sweet, shy one that he only gives when he’s genuinely happy. And Sean hasn’t been happy in a long time.

Craig’s throat is full of Sahara dust, but he manages to croak out a word. “Taylor?”

Sean looks abashed for a moment, but nods. “I know. It’s only been a few weeks since Michelle and I split. But I swear I wasn’t running around on her. I’ve liked Taylor for a while now, but I pushed my feelings away, and didn’t think about it. I wouldn’t do that to Michelle, or to anyone.”

Michelle. Shit. At the mention of her name, Craig feels the familiar pangs of guilt. He’s been keeping his secret for weeks now, and it’s been eating away at him every day. But today, at least, the guilt has a purpose: it gives him the strength to do what needs to be done.

“I know, man. I know.” Craig summons his strength and somehow he manages to hold his voice steady for the lie. “I don’t think I know a Taylor, though.”

Sean’s surprise is evident. “You know Taylor. Taylor Black. Takes Creative Writing with us. Comes to all our games. Wears a lot of red.”

“Oh, yeah. I remember now.” Craig’s tone is calculatedly nonchalant. “Kind of an asshole, I always thought.”

Sean is shaking his head, clearly disagreeing. “Taylor’s not an asshole. Just confident. And bright, and smart, and gorgeous, and–”

“Wooo, Sean’s _in lurve._ Maybe you should _marry_ Taylor.” The teasing is meant to both rile Sean up and throw him off the scent, but Craig’s not expecting that slow, sweet smile, or Sean’s nod of acknowledgement.

“You know, bro…it’s too soon for love, but I think it might be heading that way.”

And the last bubble of hope bursts, and Craig’s heart finally sinks.

His last thought late that night, as he’s finally falling asleep, is _Now I have two secrets to keep from him._

*

The plane is late, and Craig yawns. Sean had him up at stupid o'clock this morning, throwing out perishable food - or in Craig’s case, eating it - and packing suitcases and making checklists of what they packed like good little Boy Scouts. They left for the airport far too early - giving ample time for problems with security, Sean said - and now they’re here, eating donuts and drinking endless rounds of coffee and staring past each other’s ears over an airport café counter.

Sean is, as always, the first to make eye contact.

“Bro…be nice.”

“What?” Craig knows exactly what he’s talking about, but sometimes the Dumb Jock reputation comes in handy.

“Taylor. Be nice to Taylor.”

The announcement of their flight finally boarding saves Craig from having to reply. And thank Christ for that, because he has no idea what he could have said. Sean is his teammate, his best friend, his brother, and he’d do just about anything for him…but he can’t be nice to Taylor. If he’s nice, he might give away his feelings. The only way to be safe is to keep up a wall of hostility, so nobody ever guesses how he really feels.

It’s not in Craig’s nature to hide things, though, and his secrets are weighing him down. He needs to lessen the burden a bit.

“I knew.”

“You what?”

It’s excruciating, but Craig raises his eyes to meet Sean’s gaze once again. After the lying he’s done, the least he can do is look Sean in the face while he tells him. “I knew about Michelle and Mr Fancy Pants. Right from the start, I knew. I should have told you, I just…hell, I dunno. I didn’t want you to be hurt. It was easier not to. I’m sorry.”

Sean sighs. “Yeah, I know.”

“You know? You knew I knew?”

“I knew you knew.”

“How are you not mad at me?”

Sean just shakes his head and smiles. “I know _you,_ bro. You think I don’t notice how you try to protect me, on and off the field? You’re my best friend. When you do something that stings me, it’s for a good reason.” He swings his carryon up onto his broad shoulders and starts making his way to the gate, and Craig stares after him for a minute, once again feeling that strange warmth that he never quite gets used to. He’s never really had a best friend except Zahra, and Z was never the trusting type, even before she got so angry at everything. But Sean is his best friend, and _Sean trusts him._

And Craig will do whatever he can to be worthy of that trust.

Summoning up a sullen glare for Taylor, Craig follows Sean to the gate.

**Author's Note:**

> “Taylor” is the default name for the playable character in Endless Summer. No surname has been given thus far, so I went with “Black” purely because I once knew someone named Taylor Black, and I like the way it sounds.
> 
> As you can choose to play as a man or a woman, I attempted to write Taylor without specifying their gender. However, I almost always play as a woman, so it’s possible that feminine pronouns slipped in somewhere while talking about them. If you see any, please drop me a line and I’ll try to correct it.
> 
> Upon starting the first book of Endless Summer, several of the characters dislike Taylor. Craig is one of these, and I always wondered why, so I decided to write a story to try and figure it out. While I am very much a Namasiao shipper, Craig having a brief crush on Taylor seemed to fit in with his (real or fake) dislike of them.


End file.
